21/10/2026
The iM3 Ergo range luxators, straight and winged elevators all use the ‘Smiley Face’ Technique as the cutting edge is on the convex surface or the back of the instrument. An incorrect sharpening technique, with the instrument’s face toward the stone, will damage and blunt these instruments.
To sharpen:
➡️ Draw a smiley face onto the Wedge sharpening stone with the MD30 Oil
➡️ Angle the instrument’s tip at a 45 degree angle against the stone, with the face up – and follow the curve of the smiley face in a side to side motion.
➡️ Another way, is to imagine you are tracing a half circle with the instrument, rotating your wrist as you go to keep the face of the instrument inside the circle
➡️ Tip: Hold the handle of the instrument in your finger tips, allowing your wrist to rotate to create the smiley face. Holding it as though you were using it to elevate a tooth does not allow for the rotation to sharpen the entire edge of the blade
➡️ To maintain the instrument, 3 to 5 strokes is all that is needed
➡️ To finish, use the Honing stone in an upwards motion through the face of the instrument to remove any spurs from the instrument tip – again only 3-5 strokes is sufficient
When sharpening, force should not be used – it will cause grooves to form in the stone damaging the stone and rendering it useless for sharpening as well as damaging the tip of the instrument.
When sharpening is finished, clean the stones by wiping them over with gauze swabs.
Visit our website or contact our team for more details.
02 9420 5766
[email protected]
im3vet.com.au/instrument-sharpening-vets/
